Audience Theories

When I am constructing a text or analysing one, I will need to consider the destination of that text and how the audience will respond to that text.

There are 6 main audience theory: 

1. The Hypodermic Syringe Theory 

Perhaps the most simple to understand. According to the theory the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience who as a powerless mass have little choice but to be influenced- in other words, you watch something violent, you may go and do something violent, you see a women washing up on TV and you will want to do same yourself if you are a women and if you are a man you will expect women to do the washing up for you.  

2. The Culmination Theory 

Because of the difficulty of proving the effects of individual media texts on their audience a more refined version of the theory has been created called the culmination mode. According to this, while any one media text does not have too much effect, years and year of watching more violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being mistreated in soaps will make you less bothered about it in real life.

3. The Two Step Flow Theory
This theory says that most people form their opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by the mass media.  
In two step flow theory, information from the media moves in two distinct stages: 
First: Individuals(opinion leaders) who pay close attention to the mass media and it's messages receive the information. 
Second: Opinion leaders pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media content. 

4. Uses and Gratifications Theory 
According to uses and gratification theory, we all have different uses for the media and we make choices over what we want to watch. In other words, when we encounter a media text, it is not just some kind of mindless entertainment- we are expecting to get something from it: some king of gratification. It is suggested that the uses and gratifications theory has to fulfil one the following when we choice a form of media: 
I. Information- we want to find out about society and the world- we want to satisfy our curiosity. This would fit the news and documentaries.
II. Personal Identity-we may watch television or film in order to look for our behaviour.
III. Integration and Social Interaction-the ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation between other people, sharks debates (etc who is left on the x-factor)
IV. Entertainment- sometimes we simply use the media for enjoyment, relaxation or just to fill time. 

5. Reception Analysis Theory 
It takes a closer look at what is actually going on when an  audience encounters a media text. It provides an analysis of how audience perceive a certain media message. However the message is not perceived by everyone in the same manner depending on different society groups, age genre and ethnicity. 

6.  Theory of Preferred, Negotiated and Oppositional Reading 
Preferred Reading- It is what the producer of the text wanted the audience to read from the text.

Negotiated Reading- a reading of a text witch assumes that no absolute meaning exists and that meaning is generated and negotiated by what the reader brings tot the text in term of attitudes, values, beliefs and experience.

Oppositional Reading-a reading of a media text that reject the ideological positioning and apparent meaning intended by the producers of the text and subtitles a radical alternative. 
 

First draft for my front cover and contents page

I chose black and claret colors for my front cover, because Shebbear`s logo( my school) presented in the same color. Under the title I used a stripe to separate the title from the pictures and cover lines.

I placed the pictures on the left side and the cover lines on the right side. And these are fitted with each other, the pictures and the cover lines in the same line. the main image of the two sixth formers are symbolize that students who are going to university.

Feed back:

On my contents page I used a background image because it`s look more interesting and the colors fit with the color of the three sub-headings. The images on the left side again and the bottom of the page. And the cover lines on the right side but the features is separate with a line from the other articles, and these are presented in bold capitals. the pictures shows the main topics of the magazine.

Flat plan for my contents page

Here is my flat plan for my contents page of my school magazine.

I wanted to put a frame around the pictures, text and titles to be more ,outstanding' and this is presented in black, because I wanted to do this with an opposite color then the ,contents' title. 

The title is presented in red and large to be bold and eye chatching. I placed the pictures on the left side and these pictures present the main topics in my magazine. On the right side I placed three sub-headings which is: features, events and extras. In the features I will write about the main stories and topics, in the events I will write about the upcameing events and recent events, and finally in the extras I will put some interesting things in the magazine, like tickets for the events or christmas calendar. 

Flat Plan

Here is my first Flat Plan for my school magazine. On the front cover I tried to place every topics what I want to write in this magazine, for example: sport, universities, technology, events and charity programs.

The title is represented in black and white with serif fonts to be bold against the red and yellow background. And with the bear I wanted to do the masthead more interesting and eye catching. 

The role of the stripe to separate the title of the rest of the magazine. I placed the cover lines on the right side of the magazine. Where I'm going to write interesting articles. The small images on the left side of the magazine show everything else like, rugby, the sixth formers and various school programs like charity and interesting events. The main images will show two students who are preparing for university. The color of the background going to be red and yellow, the left side of  the magazine going to be red and the right side going to be yellow.The bar code and price is represented in small and inconspicuous.

Magazine Target Audience Research

I made a questionnaire about what my target audience want to see in a school magazine. As I said in my target audience profile my target audience aged 16-19 boys and girls. So my school magazine mainly for the sixth formers. So I asked them in my questionnaire, How old are they, How often do they read magazines, how much money would they be willing to spend on a school magazine, what they think what makes a good magazine or what features would they like to see in a school magazine. 

More girls responded to the questionnaire then boys and all of them between 15-19 years of age. 75 percent of the respondents chose that they reading magazines when they feel like it and 25 percent of the respondents chose that they reading magazines once a week. Half of the respondents willing to pay 50p-£1. They think the good images, interesting text and articles, and current news can make a good magazine. And they are interested in recent events, upcoming events and current sport matches. 

All in all this is what I want to do for my school magagzine, good images, lots of events, sport, current news and everything what my target audience would like to see. 

School Magazine Audience Profile

My target audience is between the ages 16-19. The magazine is aimed at sixth formers who are in full time education, studying levels and hoping to go to university. The gender in which my magazine aimed at is male and female. Our sixth formers are of both genders therefore I feel it will be more appealing to the readers if it is targeted at both male and female students. The hobbies and interests of my audience are sport, art, movies and technology like social networking, using their phones or laptops. They have a very keen interest in the social networking sites facebook, twitter or snapchat and generally enjoy being with their friends, socializing and having fun. The girls like to know all the ,hot' gossip and like to keep up to date with the latest fashion. The males which will read this magazine enyoj sports such as rugby.

My readers are fun people who enjoy having a good time. They are stylish and like to have a lot of fun however they also work very hard during school in order to achieve their dreams of going to university.

Analysis of two school magazine's front cover

I will analys two school magazine's front cover.

The first  is a sport magazine witch about the school sports. 

From the front cover, you can immediately see this is a sport school.

The central image is of an javelin thrower to suggest that it's an sport school magazine. The masthead is comletely different and strinking compared to the background and the  javelin thrower's clothes. It's presentied in large and bold with yellow capitalized font while, the athlete's clothes dark, so it is very eye catching. The use of cover lines around the central image. The cover lines  disposed on either side on the front cover. These cover lines are talking about other cover lines inside the magazine and telling the readers about the magazine contents. At the bottom of the front cover the features gives more information about other main features in the magazine issue.

The second is the Rainely Endowed School's magazine front cover.

The central image on the front cover, the school logo whitch is telling us that is part of a school front and the logo is formal giving the impression that it is a private school and it gives the date for when the school was founded. Under the school logo we can see the name of school  witch is actually part of the central image. The name of school  is presented in white and serif. The font used in proper and official style and gives a nature look to the magazine. The name of school is bold and stricking, because it's presented in white but the background is black. The images on the right side of the magazine are all original pictures and are taken of the students and faculty doing activities and extra curriculum clubs and lessons. This helps grab the attention of both audiences. Firstly, the younger audience as it gives the impression that the magazine is all about them, however is it also appealing the teachers as they would have been the people behind the scene making all these extra activates work and gives them a sense of pride and self accomplishment and it gives them a change to reflect on what they have done through the year. 

Narrative and Genre

Narrative:

The storyline and structure of media text. 

Narratives all stories helped to shape and explain all aspects of our lives from earliest infancy. They are part of the ways in which we make sense of the world and provide reassurance in the face of the dangers and contractions of everyday experience. 

Narrative are structured within genres, which provide frameworks of expectation, predictability and outcome. 

Genre:

A category of media products classed as being similar in form and type. 

Film, magazine, newspaper and television are all media genres. 

Type of film( western & musicals ), magazine( lifestyle & music), newspaper( tabloids & broadsheets) and television programme( situation comedies, crime dramas & soap operas ) are also genres. 

 

 

 

 

 

Semiotics

What are semiotics ? 
Semiotics provide a system for deconstructing and analysing visual and moving images and for explaning the wider cultural chose and combination patterns that generate cultural meaning. 

The signifier: The basic meaning of the sign that most people can recognize and agree on is known as the signifier, the physical appearance or form.

The signified: The more complex individual meanings that people give to signs or known as the signified, an ideal or concept associated with the form.

An example for the semiotic - The Blue Lagoon film poster.

Denotation:
We can observe that the background of a blue sky with a large white cloud.

A mountain range and the blue lake on the horizont across the centre of the images. 

The reflection of the mountains and the forest in a lake.

Two teenager in swimsuits looking forwards and embracing each other.

Connotation:
The signs used for this poster also hold a range of connotations:

The landscape connotes a natural environment. Mountains, forests and lakes are sepifically associated with huge, open areas of the island and this has connotations, not just of nature, but also of freedom. 

The colours used in the poster are all ,natural': blues, browns and greens. 

The clothes worn by the characters are not associated with wreckeds, because they are too clean and groomed to be wreckeds.

But wreckeds are associated with the adventure genre in film. 

The connotations of the body language of the characters are quite negative but positive as well. Their facial expression are quite sombre and serious but it also has something emotion. It seems to have stronger emotion between the main characters. 

   

Representation and Ideology

 Representation: The process of making meaning in still or moving images and words/sounds. In it’s simplest form, it means to present/show someone or somethng. However, as a concept for debate, it is used to describe the processes by which an image ect. may be used to represent/stand for someone or something, for examle a place or an idea.

Ideology: Often referred to as the system of ideas, values and beliefs which an individual group or society holds to be true or important, these are  shared by a culture/society, or groups therein, about how individual/society should function.

The conceptual area of representation and ideology considers the relationship between

•     People
•     Places
•     Events
•     Ideas
•     Values and Beliefs
•     Representation of the above within the media
•     The issues and debates surrounding their representation

Whose interest does the text serve ?

I chose We Love Pop magazine. This pop magazine is aimed at a different audience. The design of the cover of  a  magazine is crucial in portraying the audience it is aimed at and the font covers and images help represent the ideology of the genre. Ideology is the set beliefs a person/group have and different genres different ideologies.

Who is present in this text ? Who is absent from the text ?

Most pop magazines use bright colours and images so this is the reason the pop music usually a very positive representation. The front cover is more cluttered than a rock magazine or a tabloid so it’s a little bit confused but while it contains a lot of good information for readers/audiences. On  the front cover the stars always seem to be happy and smiling so it is a positive connotation.

Who or what can it be said to represent ? 

The image represent Jessie J as a successful, happy and fashionable star. She is an icon to many people, because she is very talented and she achieved many things during the past few years.

What does the text tell us about who made it and when and where they made it ?

The large masthead is in a bubble with colorful fonts, so this tell us  that We Love Pop magazine made it. This magazine is edited by Malcolm Magazine. We don’t know when they made it  but we know that the magazines are usually published monthly. The magazine launched in September 2011.

Has it’s meaning changed over the years and in what ways ?

The typical content of We Love Pop issue are articles on artists/bands, interviews, features on film, fashion, technology, and beauty and advertisments from companies also aiming at the teen audience such as Universal Music and So Fragrances. Over the years the front cover changed for example the color of the letters or the background or the design but these are not big changes.

What judgements do you make about the truth, accuracy  or effect of this text ?

Personally I’m interested in pop, actually this is my favourit genre. This magazine also contain interviews and celebrity gossip, I think that is not necessarily true but I don’t have any source and the website is written, it is not true. – „ Ok so the Miley think isn’t exactly true. But she is on the list a-plenty ˝- So this  is  my  opinion about the truth.   

What judgements might other people or groups make about it ?

People who are interested in pop music will have a good oponion of the magazine because the magazine full of interesting articles about music.  

 Actually, no one really knows for objection because  this magazine contains a lot of other things like interviews with pop stars or behind-the-scenes exclusives or photos.

What do I need to consider when making a media text ?

• important to consider  what audiences do with representations
• the front cover  has to be interesting and striking to draw the audience attention 
• layout, design and genre 
• what or who I want to represent 

Starting with the analysis of the magazines

The front cover is one of the most important techniques for promoting the magazine, as it the first thing we see. The cover aims to attract and maintain the interest of the reader trough glossy images often of stars and celebrities, vibrant colours, exciting cover lines, free gifts such as lipstick for a woman's magazine or a CD for a music magazine and competitions with attractive prize. 

The languages used by print and images. The style is the most important part of the magazine, because the images, layouts, colors and the visual impact the first thing which chaches your eyes.

My task was to analyse the front page of 3 magazines.

I chose one of them, the Total Film magazine, and I analyzed it.

I wrote about the masthead which is the most important part of the magazine after the image. It has to be bold and stand out. The large image is which you look at first when you buy a magazine, therefore it's important that is also has to be bold and stand out as the masthead. 

Form,Style and Convention

The concept area of form and convention refer to the forms, categories and conventions used to organise and structure the language of media products.

Form:

The form of a media text is it's shape and structure and combination of the ,micro' elements.

•  For example: dialogue,sounds effects, editing and ambience are used to shape a radio drama.

The form of a text is instantly recognisable to the audience.

• For example: soap opera, documentary, historical

Style:

The style of a text is the way the text uses the form.

• For example: Supernatural on City TV has a particular aesthetic that makes it unique within the genere TV drama, makes it style entirely different from Holby City.

Convention: 

Conventoin are usually discribed as the ingredients of a particular form of genre.

•  For example: When making news broadcosts rules of engagement have to be observent.

                                     Videogames promotion share a range of conventions with Hollywood film franchises.

                                     Charity adverst use harsh and striking images.

Scary Movie

What category/genre is it ?

The Scary Movie is one of my favourits. It's a brilliant horror comedy. It has a horror and comedy mix genre.  The masthead of the magazine with red sans-serif font but on the T-shirt the text with serif font. The black background makes it dark, mysterious and horror but the people in the background are not very serious, not like in a normal horror movie.

What codes and conventions does it follow or disobey ?

 The Scary Movie's front cover follows most of the ordinary conventions of the film posters. The image and the title is in the center of the film poster like all other film posters. The title is with big stand out, bold and red  sans-serif font. The image stand out, bold and colorful on a darker background as well.

What categories and conventions do I need to consider and use when making my own media text ?

  1. Stand out and bold title and image(s) on a darker or brighter background 

  2. Advertisments, extra promotions, extra articles and more images on the cover

  3. Quotes and images from the film 

                           

                                 

Media Language

Media language refer to the languages used by audio-visual, print and ICT-based media  to produce meaning. This languages can be written, verbal, non-verbal, aural and aesthetic communication and usually a combination of these. 

For example: In television drama, a phone conversation between two characters in different locations can only be understood by the audience  because of the relationship between the two camera angles (close up, head and shoulder shots or longer shots showing location context), non-verbal performance (facial expression during the phone conversation), dialogue (what the two characters say), lighting ( to provide a meaningful atmosphere), editing (so that we can follow the conversation and so that continuity is correct) and sound (atmospheric music or diegetic sound such as a door opening or slamming shut).

What is the text called and what associations do we have with this title/name ?

Bravo is a well known German magazine that include gossip, film, fashion and music. This magazine the largest teen magazine whitin the German-language sphere but Bravo also known in other neighboring countries. 

What is the text about ? What does the text say ?

Bravo covers topics which primarily interest youths, among which are current information on pop and movie stars, as well as relationship and sex counseling.

How does it say it ?

Originally there was only a single Bravo magazine, today different variants are published. This is a result of higher individualisation and changing interest. The Bravo magazine on the front cover use a lot of colorful subtitles and images. The interesting and strikingly colorful cover lines attracts the readers attention because, these are shows how many amazing and interesting story and celebrity gossips in the magazine.

What are its language (print, moving, images, sounds) and style ? How do they create meaning ?

Print and images are the main languages used by this media piece, with a continual style running through this individual magazine, with a consistent font used for the title and subheadings. The style also remains unique to this magazine with the too colorful cover lines on the whole page. 

How are these languages put together, or constructed, to make this text ?

Bravo combines a background pictures with a completely different coloured title and cover lines to maintain the theme. The main image always at the center of the front cover and the cover lines somewhere around the main image. But apart from, the masthead is always the most striking. 

What languages do we need to consider and use while making our own media text ?

When creating a magazine front cover, obviously we can not to use some feature of the media languages, like audio-visual, aural and verbal, but we can use the other methods. If we are making the front cover aesthetically pleasing and creating a consistent recurring theme it will attract a large audience. Also by using ICT-based skills to their full content. The masthead running over  the top of the front page but the cover lines or subheadings surrounding it. 

Brief

Print

Preliminary exercise:

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college 

magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close-up plus some appropriately laid-out

text and masthead. Adittionally candidates must produce a DTP mock-up of the layout of the contents 

page to demostrate their grasp of the program.

Main task:

The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine ( if done as a group task, 

each member of the group to produce an individual edition of the magazine, following the same house style). Maximum four members to a group.

All images and text used must be original, produced by the candidate(s), minimum of FOUR images per candidate.